The Court of Appeal remands the case to the trial court for appellant to present an equal protection claim based on the Sexually Violent Predator Act’s (SVPA) failure to require a personal jury trial advisement when the right to a personal jury trial advisement and waiver is included in two other civil commitment schemes in California: those for violent offenders with mental health disorders (OMHD) and persons found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI). The Court holds that appellant will bear the burden of showing there was no rational basis for the unequal treatment.

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here: https://www4.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/H050677.PDF